, 1887-05-29

RIO has come away TO av0il
&c. Yes, she has; but Gideon Grasper IS
Eot the man 10 give mp his sweetheart.
I've suffered enough for her already. Now
60 and tell her, If you Like. But, mind, l
am at your elbow, and can have you ar
rested at any moment, II 1 please, as
Russian Nihilists."
You're a demon, Gideon Grasper-a
malignant demon; that's what you are!'
''Then III act the character, you may
depend, Mrs. Farmer. So be warned, you
and Miss Babyfacel''
He turned away, and I waited until
he had disappeared amongst the other
passengers. Then / came aft again, and
at once perceived thnt something had
happened to Miss Katie and Mr.. Neville.
There was a shyness In her manner, and
a sort Of proprietary, proud like look In
his face, which convinced me that he had
been saying something sentimental, and
she Shove she understood 1t.
But they must not be engaged. The
threat Of Gideon Grasper had been too
significant. i would have interfered had
not the boat stopped at our landing place.
We went ashore. Gideon Grasper was
not there. I began TO breathe more freely.
We went to the hotel all together; and
when we reached Miss Katie's room, she
turned and saidi
Mrs. Farmer, l think 1t only right To
tell you, who have always been SO good TO
me, that Full mean Mr.. Fulcher New
ille-has proposed to me, and I have told
him That
You promised Gideon Grasper q year
or 80 ago." L whispered.
Mrs. Farmer, you are unkind-
rudel / told Mr.. Neville that IL he
held to his opinion in three months,
l would become engaged to him-ifI didn't
change my mind,'' she added with a
laugh.
Miss Kate, excuse me; I'm an elderly
woman-leastways, a married woman
and u mother. Take my advice-don't
lead him on too far. Do make up your
mind. Remember Grasper; he Is almost
desperate"
Let him be wholly desperate, Them
she replied airily. Am 1 not to mus
myself at alli Mr.. Grasper, fndeedr"
II Is n determined man, miss" 1
ventured.
$50 am l a determined woman, Lucy
II | may call you SOL defy Gideon
Grasper and all his works. I shall do
as | please!'
After awhile we reached our destina-
ton; and to this day 1 am not certain
whether the place was In the Tyrol or
Swissiand. l say "was''-not is-for not
n vestige of the village emains to tell the
tale which l know to be so true. Zwei-
bergthal was the place, and there are two
mountains, one on each side of it, fine,
rugged, snow clad, fir fringed mountains,
much bigger than our country's hills, but
not so green and rounded
We found Miss Kntie's relations living
on q what they call u pension, though the
family are well of, too; and what the
pension Is for / can't say. Mr.. and
Miss Neville also came to the same board
ing house, and l need hardly tell you that
they were falling fast into love. 1t was
as plain as possible. He was a pleasant,
well spoken gentleman, and Miss Kate
was as charming, and, I must say, as
careless as ever.
One day she and I had assembled Il little
way up one of the Zweibergs-I can't tell
their real names: something about a
stock, We had climbed up, alone, for
"A wonder; N while l was resting, Miss
Katie went on a little. farther. She had
been gone some time whCl l heard n
scream above me, and looking UP saw
her running down, pursued by u strange
man, who, Us he came nearer, l perceived
was Gideon Grasper.
He was excited and angry. He yelled
at her to halt, but she only ran the faster,
passing me without stopping. Gideon
saw me in his way, and halted as l held
out my arm to check him. He was glar-
ing like a wild bull; the man was going
mack l believe.
she shall never be his-neverr' he
screamed. ''If / nave TO move the noun
tains to fall on her she shall dier'
Then he turned away toward the snow,
which lay thickly above us, gInting in
the hot sun.
Hot, indeed! 1t was beautifully warm;
and to think Of so much heat near so
much snow was wonderful. / aid rs
r.nIrh 10 tho n ~ fha ElnAY.Io, ~ ,rIN
spoke some English.
Yes" said he; sit is hot, a great deal
too hot for the time of year. We don't
like it."
we do said L; n off l walked,
thinking there was something odd in his
manner.
l found Miss Katie all of a tremble.
Gideon had frightened her, and threat
ened her, but she was more than ever
determined to become engaged to Mr..
Neville. So when, three days afterward,
he suggested n little picnic to a small hut
on the side of the mountain, where there
was a lovely view of a lake and a fine
waterfall, she gladly assented, and did all
she could to make up n pleasant party.
was to go, and Mr.. and Miss Neville,
Miss Katie's cousins, too, and two Ger
man students, A guide and a porter were
engaged to show tho way and TO help any
one who wanted help, and to carry the
baskets. 1t was n lovely, bright, warm
morning, perfectly still, not a breath of
air stirring, only the hum OF insects or the
sound OF a COW bell could be heard; and,
as we proceeded, the roar of n cataract
from the melting snow field above us.
The guide and porter walked in front
by themselves chatting. Another man
some one in skins and bare knees, with a
high feathery hat-came behind by him
self, as If watching us; but no one took
any notice of him. My only fear was
about Gideon Grasper, and for his inter-
ference, and OF something the landlord
had said about the snow falling.
We reached the hut and had lunch.
After lunch Miss Katie and Mr.. Neville
rambled off and SO did L. Although we
took opposite directions, they soon came
round near me; and as / sat in a dreamy,
wondering way, thinking of home, l could
occasionally hear their voices.
Mr.. Neville was pleading hard, and Miss
Katie was yielding. He seemed quite
satisfied, for l heard him say, ''Then,
dearest, you are minet'' in n loud voice,
when another voice IN threatening tones
alarmed me. knew too well who it was
Gideon Grasperl
l jumped up. There was the man in
the Tyrolese hat grasping his gun. That